| Summary/Abstract |
The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is based in Houston, Texas and focuses on manned space flight, conducting space research and development, providing mission control, and training of US astronauts. In 1961 the Manned Spacecraft Center grew out of the Space Task Group based in Langley, Virginia, that had been formed in 1958 with an original workforce of 45 people. When President Kennedy in 1961 posed the goal of putting a man on the moon by the end of the decade, NASA realised that a more expanded capability would be needed, at a new site. The Clearlake, Houston site was announced in 1961, selected out of a total of 23 sites under consideration. The organization received its current name in 1973 in honor of US President Lyndon B. Johnson. Gradually JSC grew to its current personnel size of 14,000, 3000 of which are civil servants and 11,000 contractors. Over the years JSC has had primary responsibility for the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs, as well as the International Space Station and Orion
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